Print only selected pages

Pretty printing

Specifies that the file should be formatted with a shaded header with the date, time, job name, and page number. This option is only useful when printing text files.

Print more on each paper

To print two pages on each side of the paper

lpr -o number-up=2 file.ps

And to get in even more on the paper

lpr -o number-up=4 file.ps

You can also use 8 and 16. But can you read it?

Rotate

To rotate the page 90 degrees and print it in landscape orientation

lpr -o landscape file.ps

In most cases it is better to create the file in landscape orientation.

Mirroring

lpr -o mirror file.ps

Might be useful if you want to print something that Leonardo D. has written.
Combining options
You can combine the options, like in the following example

lpr -P newprinter -o prettyprint -o number-up=2 file.ps

Other useful utilities

ps2ps can do a lot of tricks on a postscript-file. It is used in the background of the printing system to handle many of the options above, but can be used directly on a file. ps2ps can sometimes be used to “clean up” ps or eps files originating from other systems.
psbook is useful to rearrange the pages in a ps-file in such a way that when printed, you can fold the papers around the middle, and you have got a book. Or at least a booklet. Se man psbook for more information.
gv or ghostview, is the number one program to check a ps-file before printing it. It can save many trees

To print to the Copier Canon C5255i

The copier can only operate with codes. There are two codes depending on the faculty you belong.
Please do not switch queues.

If the queue you're using doesn't work. please contact me.

If you don't know the code, contact Katarina.

Linux Workstations and Clusters

The following copier queues should be used on workstations:

Use this queue…

… if you belong to

copy-n

N-fak

copy-t

LTH

If you experience problems printing from KDE or command line, follow these instructions:

Kde:

Go to Print

select the copy machine (either copy-n or copy-t depending which faculty you are)

choose Properties → Advanced

Scroll the menu until you find

User Password (max ...)
User ID (max)

and set both to None

Commandline:

To pass the codes to the print queue (should not be needed after you do the
KDE thing above, but in any case):

lpr -o UserID=<code> -o UserPassword=<code> -Pcopy-t yourfile

It seems the driver for this printer is different than the previous one
and KDE always tries to fallback to some weird default.

To check the print server status

On the Linux system the printing is handled by a central print-spooler. The spooler queues, format (if necessary) and send the file to the printer. The spooler is in our case called cups.
In the normal case the file you want to print should be a postscript-file.

It is possible to print files that are not in postscript. One typical format is “text”, but even a lot of other formats is possible. The spooler takes care of the file, and try to do its best to convert it to postscript before it is sent to the printer. However, in most cases, I recommend that you convert the files to postscript yourself.

Installation

Installation if connected via ethernet cable

Linux laptops and Apple or Windows machines would need to install all the printers manually.

GNU/Linux

Get to the Matfys print room and note the printer names. You will need those later.

There are four ways of installing the drivers:

1) Safe and Tedious (recommended)

Root privileges: not needed

use your printer system configurator to add the printer. It may vary depending on distributions.

When asked for the printer, choose to add a network printer and type in the URL:

ipp://cups.matfys.lth.se:631/printers/<printername>

e.g.

ipp://cups.matfys.lth.se:631/printers/maria

Repeat the above for each printer you want to add.

This should not require drivers, as they are provided by the CUPS server.

Test with lpstat -a, you should see the list of configured printers.

2) Quick and Advanced (recommended for experts)

Root privileges: needed

The printers can be added directly to the current cups configuration using a configuration file.
Be careful: backup /etc/cups/printers.conf before you proceed.

Follow these steps:

become root and shut down cups (may vary depending on distribution):

sudo service cups stop

download this file (sorry I didn't have the time to craft this yet… stay tuned)

merge or add the contents of the file at the end of your /etc/cups/printers.conf file and save.

restart cups

sudo service cups start

test with lpstat -a, you should see the list of configured printers.

3) Hackish and Fastest

Root privileges: needed

This solution might prevent you to use printers outside Matfys. Use it only if you know where to put your hands.

Follow these steps:

become root and shut down cups (may vary depending on distribution):

sudo service cups stop

add this line to /etc/cups/client.conf (create it if it doesn't exist):

ServerName cups.matfys.lth.se

test with lpstat -a, you should see the list of all configured printers.

If you use this, remember to comment out the ServerName line in client.conf and restart cups if you travel to a location outside Matfys.

4) Evil and Time-consuming

Root privileges: might be needed if you need to install new drivers

Why is this evil? because this bypasses the print server. That means that is more likely to jam the print queue in the printer itself (will need a restart) and jam the printer itself if the driver is misconfigured (hopefully a restart will be enough ). Use at your own risk.

Install the printer drivers yourself, and then install the printer by getting its network address.

This may vary depending on the printer vendor, and Linux may or may not have the drivers.

In short, all you need to do is to provide the hostname of the printer. In most cases it will work if you use

socket://<printer FQDN>:9100

or

http://<printer FQDN>

e.g.

socket://maria.matfys.lth.se:9100
http://maria.matfys.lth.se

Windows

I will write them when I have time. For the moment being, the only thing I can suggest is:

Go to Printers and Faxes and add a new printer

When asked for a new printer, select network printer (TCP/IP)

Add the printer this way:

http://cups.matfys.lth.se:631/printers/printername

e.g.

http://cups.matfys.lth.se:631/printers/maria

You will be asked for drivers. If you're lucky, they're on Windows Update, if you're not, find them yourself by looking at the vendor's website.

When the drivers have been installed, you should be able to use the printer.

MacOS X

No idea. OSX uses the same CUPS system as linux ,so I guess it's easy. If anybody wants to write this, contact me.

Installation if connected via Wireless

NOTE: it is NOT possible to install printer.matfys.lth.se via wireless.

The best is to book a time with me if you need to install.

If you really want to do yourself:

Root privileges: might be needed if you need to install new drivers

Install the printer drivers yourself, and then install the printer by using its hostname.
When choosing the printer driver, I suggest either PS or PCL. The result may vary depending on the printer.

This may vary depending on the printer vendor, and Linux may or may not have the drivers.
A list of tested working drivers is provided here

All you need to do is to provide the hostname of the printer. In most cases it will work if you use